[spain]

I highly disagree. The author says one of the main reasons coding isn't easy is because setting up the environment is so difficult. The problem is that if you try and learn "iOS" using XCode then of course the environment has a lot more weight and cause more issues that you really don't need to deal with as a beginner. A better option would be to fire up a simple Scheme or Ruby interpreter in a terminal and watch them go (after giving them a copy of your favorite programming book). Heck, with things like CodeAcademy you can just visit a website and eliminate the environment issue completely.

I'd say the problem with programming isn't that it's difficult, but that it's intimidating. Writing a bunch of arcane symbols and words in a text file scares people off, while really it's just everyday logic people use in a different form (at least, the very basics are). I think that's also why programmers keep telling people it's so easy, so that they get over that irrational fear.